The rules behind the rules

The tag rule

In the Sprint Race, the Marathon Race and the Three-legged Race, a runner who is caught is out. When a faster runner comes up behind and touches the runner ahead, or passes them without a touch at all, the runner passed or tagged drops out of the race at once. They leave to the right, away from the circle, never toward the center, so nobody trips over them. Pushing a runner out of the way disqualifies the pushing team, and the runner who was tagged is still out.

The tag rule does not apply in the relays. In the Sprint Relay and the Marathon Relay a runner tagged by a hand rather than a baton moves to the right to let the tagging team through, and keeps running. Failing to move is what gets a relay team disqualified.

How many events one clubber may play

At a meet, every team member plays in at least two and at most six events. Fewer than two, or more than six, disqualifies the team for the event that broke the limit. The four running events cannot be freely combined either. Find a clubber’s first running event down the side; anything marked No is closed to them.

So there are only two legal running pairs: Sprint Race with Marathon Relay, or Sprint Relay with Marathon Race. The other six events carry no combination rule, so build those line-ups first and place the fast runners last. The Sprint Race is for 3rd and 4th graders only and the Marathon Race for 5th and 6th.

Reading the circle

Everything on the floor is measured from the center, along the diagonal. The 28 feet is the distance out to the corner, not the length of a team line; read it as a side and the circle no longer fits inside the square.

28 ft

Center to each corner, along the diagonal. This sets the size of everything else.

39 ft 7 in

Length of each team line, which follows from the 28 feet.

30 ft

Diameter of the circle. The circle pins sit 15 feet from the center on each diagonal.

7 ft

Side of the center square. Its corners are the 5 foot marks on the diagonals, where the scoring pins go.

5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15 ft

The marks along each diagonal. Scoring pins at 5. Balloon Relay zone divider at 8. Four-way Tug beanbags at 11 for 3rd-4th graders and 12 for 5th-6th. Circle pins at 15.

General rules, A to Z

Adherents

Nothing may be put on gym shoes to improve grip, not even a wet cloth, and no cloths on the floor at all. Clean shoes with good tread are the answer. Gym shoes are required for everyone on the floor, coaches and officials included.

Balloons

9 to 11 inch balloons, inflated to about 8 inches across.

Center pin and center beanbag

In events that finish in the middle, a game pin stands where the two diagonals cross. Where second place is also scored, the pin stands on a beanbag: first place goes to the team holding the pin, second to the team holding the beanbag.

Circle pins

In every running event, both feet pass outside every circle pin. No jumping over a pin. A pin that has already fallen still has to be passed as if it were standing. Runners may cut inside the circle between pins. Knocking a circle pin over disqualifies the team for that event or heat.

False start

Any movement before the starting signal. The event is stopped and restarted. Two false starts by the same team in one event or heat disqualify that team for it; the others restart.

Floor markings

Lines are tape, and the width of the tape is the margin. Where a tape line is a boundary, a foot over it disqualifies the team for that event or heat.

Interference

Called when a team’s fair chance is spoiled by something beyond the normal hazards of the game: being obstructed by an official, a spectator, a coach or another team’s player, or water or debris on the floor. If a team’s own player or coach caused it, that team is disqualified from the event. The circle director may order a rerun.

Passing zone

In every relay the baton is passed inside the team’s own team zone, the triangle between its team line and the two diagonals beside it. A pass anywhere else, including across a starting diagonal, disqualifies the team for that event.

Possession

Where an event is decided by the center pin or beanbag, a player must have hold of it to score. Touching is not enough. If the player holding the pin is disqualified, the next player into the center takes the points. Possession does not apply where scoring pins are used.

Rerun

Held after an interference call, or whenever the officials cannot fairly decide the points. A team whose member caused the interference, or that was already disqualified, sits the rerun out. In a rerun of the Marathon Race new runners may be used.

Scoring pins

Game pins set on the 5 foot marks, to be touched by a player’s hand. They can be used instead of the center pin and beanbag, and where they are, the possession rule does not apply.

Spirit of the game

Stretching the rules on purpose to play an event differently from the way it was designed. The team is disqualified for that event or heat even if it followed the letter of the written rules.

Starting diagonal

Running events start with the runner outside the circle, behind their own team’s starting diagonal. Every running event goes counterclockwise.

Starting signal

Each team’s judge signals ready to the circle director; the circle director signals the official starter; the starter begins the event. A few events, such as the Balloon Volley toss, start on the circle director’s own signal.

Team lines and team zone

The red, blue, yellow and green lines form the square. Clubbers not in the current event stay behind their own line. The team zone is the triangle between a team’s line and the two diagonals beside it; a beanbag that leaves it disqualifies the team.

Sportsmanship

Officials are trained volunteers doing their best under pressure, and calls will sometimes go against you. People in the stands who have never been inside a church are watching how the adults behave when that happens. Motivate the team hard, and keep enthusiasm from turning into an outburst. Being a winner for the Lord is more important than winning the Games.

What this is not

This page is not Awana’s rule book and does not replace it. The facts are drawn from the AwanaGames Official Rules and Regulations for 3rd to 6th grade, revised January 2024, and put in our own words. Where this page and the rule book differ, the rule book wins. Back to the event rules.